DEERFIELD, Ill. — While most Lake Forest students were perched at their desks on Saturday night with countless pages of notes in front of them, the Boys’ Basketball Team was gearing up for a different type of opponent: the Deerfield Warriors. Like finals, the Warriors are a sizable beast with a starting lineup consisting of three players listed at 6’7” or taller. Dealing with that height proved too large a task for the Scouts to overcome on Saturday night as the home Warriors earned the 37-25 victory.

Without a player taller than 6’6”, many would’ve counted Lake Forest out from the get go. However, that wasn’t the case as Coach Phil LaScala’s team hung in for a halftime lead. The first two periods were slow and low-scoring, dominated by long possessions and turnovers. The Deerfield zone equipped with lanky forwards at the top of the key forced the Scouts into deep shots and an inability to get the ball inside. Quick, aggressive defense was pivotal for the Scouts as they led 11-8 at the half and kept things tight into the third quarter.

Seniors Crawford Bolton and Tommy Hanson dealt with foul trouble throughout the second half which allowed Deerfield to blow the doors open. With their big men out of the game, Coach LaScala’s team was unable to keep up with the sizable Warriors. Thus, a 29-14 run for Deerfield over the second half led to the loss for the Scouts.

Though the result was not the one Lake Forest fans were hoping for, some positives did come out of Deerfield. Sophomore Jack Malloy played a solid game on both ends of the floor as he finished with five points and a 100% field goal percentage along with two blocks and a rebound. The Scouts’ defense also held the Warriors to 37 points which would typically end in a win for Lake Forest.

While their defense impressed on Saturday night, the offense was a whole different story. The visitors shot a mere 10-41 (24%) from the field and turned the ball over thirteen times. Stephen Young attempted the lone two free throws for Lake Forest and made one of them; attempting two free throws is not a solid recipe for winning and a number that needs to increase dramatically in the coming games.

With the loss, Lake Forest falls to 4-5 and Deerfield improves to 6-4. The Scouts welcome a very skilled Benet Academy team to the Competition Gym on Friday night at 7:30 PM.